Awareness

Brain power can decline from age 45: study

 

Cognitive skill scan start to fall from the age of 45, not from around the age of 60 as is commonly thought, according to research published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Researchers led by Archana Singh-Manoux from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London observed 5,198 men and 2,192 women over a 10-year period from 1997.

 

The volunteers were London civil servants aged between 45 and 70 who had been enrolled in a long-term health study.

Over the 10 years, the participants were tested three times -- for memory, vocabulary, and skills in aural and visual comprehension.

During this time, there was a 3.6-percent decline in mental reasoning in men aged 45-49 and a 9.6-percent fall in those aged 65-70. The corresponding figures for women were 3.6 and 7.4 percent.

"Cognitive decline is already evident in middle age," says the paper, which defines this as the years from 45 to 49.

The findings should spur further research into spotting and braking cognitive deterioration, the authors hope.

Many societies face an "exponential increase" in the number of elderly people as a result of increases in life expectancy, they note.

 

"These changes are likely to have a profound influence on individuals' lives and society at large. Poor cognitive status is perhaps the single most disabling condition in old age."

Thanks & Regards,  (courtesyto AFP, yahoo)

Merry Chridtmas

Daily Recipe.....Pineapple & Banana Pancakes

Pineapple & Banana Pancakes

Ingredients

100g/4oz fresh or drained canned pineapple
1 banana , sliced
100 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 egg
100 ml milk
sunflower oil , for frying
Greek yogurt and maple syrup, to serve

Preparation

Roughly chop the pineapple and slice the banana. Tip the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar into a bowl and mix well.


Make a well into the centre and crack in the egg, then gradually mix the egg into the flour, adding the milk gradually to make a soft batter.

Stir in the pineapple and banana. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the batter in heaped table spoonsful, well apart to allow them to spread. When bubbles appear on the surface, flip the pancakes over and cook until light golden.

Cook all the pancakes and keep them warm. Serve 2-3 pancakes with a spoonful of yogurt and a little maple syrup poured over.

Variations to try.
Other fruit combos that work well in this batter include a small, chopped mango and the grated rind of a lime (omit the cinnamon); 100g/4oz blueberries and a small chopped ripe pear, or replace the fresh fruit with 100g/4oz ready-to eat dried fruit such as dates or raisins